The US car manufacturers want to save their legendary muscle cars for the new electric world. The problem is by no means the performance, but the lack of emotion of the Stromer. No problem, says Dodge: it just has to be loud enough.
Dodge Charger Daytona SRT is the latest power monster from Detroit. The show car shows how the US automakers imagine the future of the muscle car. How much power the electric monster tickles from its 800-volt system is not yet known – at the top it should easily be 700 to 800 hp. The power is brought to the asphalt via all-wheel drive.
The design was unmistakably inspired by the 1968 Dodge Charger, the legendary muscle car that became famous with the roar of its V8 and squeaky tires in the movie “Bullitt” starring Steve McQueen. In the film, mafia hitmen in the Charger chase police officer Bullitt through the steep streets of San Francisco in his dark green Ford Mustang.
While the Mustang is also electrically powered today, as a mixture of SUV and family car, the Stellantis Group (which includes Chrysler, Fiat, Dodge, Opel and Peugeot) wants the Charger to be a new edition of the classic muscle cars. The cars should be just as beefy, brute and strong as they used to be, just with an electric drive.
The design was the easiest exercise. The coupé shape with the slight swing in the hips can easily be seen as a homage to the original, as does the front grille – even if today, of course, it no longer has to cool the petrol engine and instead of the pop-up headlights of the original it has a kind of huge LED ring for lighting.
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Technically, little data of the show car is known. But it is clear that a car manufacturer can no longer simply combine a couple of powerful electric motors with a large battery for its new electric products, which then enables maximum electric performance in the short term. After all, everyone does that these days. Dodge has therefore come up with a number of ideas for its muscle show car.
In terms of verbal creativity, this is also reminiscent of the neologisms of the good old V8 years, when Detroit sports models with “air grabbers”, “road
It remains to be seen whether the Boller feeling from the retort will appeal to fans of classic muscle cars or the current Dodge Challenger. In any case, Ford has already proven with the Mustang Mach-e that even electric cars with famous names from the petrol era can sell well if they are well made.
So Detroit faces a new arms race like it did in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Because of course Chevrolet will not leave the Charger uncommented, an electric Chevy Camaro has long been in the pipeline. Ford will not leave it at the somewhat swollen four-door Mustang, but will certainly add a genuine electric athlete. This in turn will force the German competition to offer new power electric cars under the logos of Porsche, Audi RS, BMW M or AMG. So everything stays the same, and maybe not even quieter – but at least with fewer exhaust gases. Because with e-cars, the exhaust is known to be in the nearest power plant.
